Local shoppers venture out for Black Friday amid pandemic

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) --- The countdown to Christmas is on and Black Friday remains the unofficial kickoff to the holiday shopping season.

Across the nation, shoppers lined up outside stores. However, locally smaller crowds gathered overnight than Milwaukee has seen in past years. Some shoppers told CBS 58 News that they were a little nervous to come out, but decided to pick up deals.

"I was afraid, but my daughter came first," Black Friday shopper Pier Eiland said. "She called me. She it's light." 

The line to get into stores like Menards was a small fraction of what it typically is, which gave customers who decided to venture out on Black Friday during a pandemic comfort.

"We came and saw the parking lots weren't that busy and they are still taking precautions and everyone is wearing a mask," shopper Krystal Garcia said.

Menards also has a strategic plan to keep crowd sizes down this year.

"We're spreading out our ads over a four-week period so we don't have all the traffic that we usually do," Menards general manager Mike Muhlbauer said.

The light foot traffic made getting deals easier for shoppers.

"The main things that brought me out here is the 65 inch TV," shopper Zach Leveranc said. "Really just looking for electronic stuff, anything like that."

Shoppers say their plan was to get in and out.

Stores like Menards will have deals in the coming days as well. Check with your favorite stores to get deals on days other than Black Friday as well.